Cut a 2" long piece of thinwall pvc. Make slit in side. Pop it over the prism pole. Now, it dispersed the stress, and protects the pole. If need be, shave it a little.
Have you tried a nylon bolt? Getting the old pad out can be a pain, but a standard size bolt will fit. Another issue is the bolt head is thicker then the old pad. so it is a tight fit to get the rod in the clamp.
We made a point of not loosing ours, and on behalf of the crew I searched for and found it in some pretty obscure places, then after a year, it was gone for good. So I fashioned this rubber thingy from a car tire inner tube. That was 4 years ago and its never had any issues. The flap sits between the bolt end and the pole shaft, and it's shaped a bit like an hour glass so that it is just tucked though the clamp bits so that it will never fall out.
I must say the bipod is the most hated piece of kit to use, well transport at least, it even killed its own bag.
I don't have a picture of it but there's a metal sleeve you can buy that slips on.?ÿ It has a pretty snug tolerance so you have to make sure you pole is clean of dried mud.?ÿ Once you get it to the area of the clamp, you epoxy it?ÿ in place.?ÿ It keeps the guy with the gorilla strength from crushing the carbon fiber rod with his over zealous tightening of the clamp.?ÿ I know here in St. Louis you can get them from?ÿ Seiler Instrument.?ÿ
